Question: What do you get when three guys with no pizza-making experience open a Neapolitan-style pizza and pasta joint?
Answer: You get unusual pies topped with oxtail, house-made mozzarella, black garlic, thyme, and caramelized onions ($14). Sound weird? It is, but it works, as does the crab angel-hair pasta with Calabrian chili and lemon breadcrumbs. Those two items are staples, but everything else at Proof Pizza & Pasta is a surprise that depends upon what chef and owner Justin Flit (who was a sous-chef at Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak) has seasonally available. Take, for instance, the colossal macaron ice-cream sandwich, a heavenly creation that changes flavors the first of every month. The consistency at Proof is provided by the from-scratch pasta and 00-grade dough, which is tossed into a wood-burning oven for no more than 90 seconds, complying with Neapolitan standards. And because nothing on the menu exceeds $20, it's the kind of place you can afford to frequent every night — as long as you work off all those carbs during the day, of course.
Readers' choice: Michael's Genuine Food & Drink